Worship at Harvest

January 11th, 2009

Following the morning service at Itayanagi, I joined Martin Ghent to go and set up for the service at Harvest chapel. To the casual observer, this collection of old farm buildings might appear rather dilapidated and uninviting, but they would be wrong for a of couple reasons. One: these buildings look like they've stepped right out of My Neighbour Totoro (ok, a bit silly but still rather neat)! Two: the potential for the future is incredible. It'll be amazing to see how Harvest develops in the next few years. There's space for a worship hall, offices, gym, kitchen...

Even with so much work to be done, the rooms and service at Harvest have a homely feel. The congregation may not be large, but that allows for a greater intimacy between those attending. We sang together, I gave my testimony, Martin shared his message - and all this was accompanied by the inviting smell of the next meal cooking! There's a definite upside to holding a service in a room with a kitchen attached. After the service, we all shared an afternoon meal together, and I couldn't help thinking how beautiful the surroundings of the chapel were. With so much room to expand, I can see God doing many great things through Harvest chapel!

- Jonathan

Harvest Chapel Garden

On Tuesday 7.1 and Wednesday 7.2, most of our group went to the future location of Harvest Chapel to do some much-needed practical work. Because the location is legally classified as farm land, we have to grow crops there in order to maintain use of the land, making Harvest Chapel a very fitting name indeed. We had quite a bit of work to do, as the field was overgrown with weeds and garbage. Through a combination of old-fashioned weed-pulling and Mr. Ghent's weedcutter, we succeeded in clearing out most of the field and threw the weeds into heaps for burning at a future date. Adrian and Deborah quickly proved adept at weed-clearing, but the rest of us worked our hardest as well. With a rotor tiller we chopped up the dry, hard ground to prepare it for planting, and by Wednesday, we were ready to plant some crops. Throughout our hands-on work at Harvest Chapel, we attracted stares from many Japanese passing by; a large group of foreigners farming in northern Japan is not an everyday sight! With any luck, we managed to get a little early publicity for the upcoming chapel before the land had even been officially bought.

We started with squash transplanted from the garden behind Itayanagi Chapel, but the farm-experienced Mortley family provided some corn that was planted as well. We finished our first planting with the help of a church member who actually assisted in buying the land for us in the first place. He provided some fresh tomato plants that transplanted near the back of the field to save passerbys the temptation of stealing their fruit. We finished up by watering, and in only a two-day span, had transformed the weed and garbage-ridden field into fertile soil for a new crop! Hopefully God will do the same with the people of south Hirosaki and make Tsugaru Gospel Church's latest endeavor a success!

- Kyle

Before & after pictures:

Wreath Classes

One of the Ghent’s latest evangelistic outreaches has been Christmas wreath-making classes held by Ruth Mae at both Itayanagi and Harvest Chapels. This has provided a great opportunity to invite women of all ages-many from English and parenting classes- to gather together in the church building for a bit of festive fun. Each lady has not only returned home with a beautiful evergreen Christmas wreath to decorate their home with, but hopefully also a deeper understanding of what Christmas is really about. Please pray that these classes would be another step closer to these women knowing Jesus.

Children's English classes

Ruth gave an English lesson at Harvest Chapel for four children aged around 5 on Thursday. The kids enjoyed the games, and it was a good opportunity for Ruth to talk with and get to know the parents afterwards. She also had Bible time with the kids after the lesson. The Aussies had a great time playing with the kids as well. Please pray that through the relationships formed that we will be able to teach the not-yet-believers about Jesus and may they enter into a saving relationship with Him.

Thanksgiving party

Praise God that Harvest Chapel was able to host a Thanksgiving Party on Saturday, November 22nd. It was the first major event that was held at the new location. Even though it took a lot of preparation to get the place ready, it was fantastic to see around 50 people attending, of whom about 36 did not attend a church regularly!

We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with a lot of turkey, stuffing, and, of course, pies. Ruth was able to make everything with some help of some Australian short-termers who are staying with us for most of December.

We were also able to invite an a cappella student group from Hirosaki University who gave us a great performance of some classic English songs, using only their voices to make the music. They were a very lively bunch and we all enjoyed their company very much. We hope to invite them back to a pizza party with the Aussies.

The Aussies also gave us a rendition of a traditional Australian song, Waltzing Matilda, adding a bit of their personal flair.

It was good to see so many people attend, especially so many who do not yet have a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus. Please pray that God used the message Martin gave to bring them one step closer to becoming followers of Him. We really are thankful in all the ways the Lord has blessed Harvest Chapel so far.

A New Start

Yes it is official- Harvest Chapel is up and running.
The building had no running water, no kitchen, no heating on Nov 9 when worship services began, but people joyfully came to celebrate God's goodness. Since then we have had some people pull back from helping start, other people commit. We are currently at 6 people for whom this is their church home.The entryway is waiting for siding, a cross, and a signboard- still you can enter the building.
The building has changed- the multipurpose room, was a 4 car garage. When the sanctuary is finished, this will be the classroom and dining room.
Since Nov 9th , the roof has been put on the entryway addition, water and sewage are hooked up, heating stoves installed, and the kitchen usable.
In addition to having 4 worship services in the new facility, there have been 2 parenting classes, 2 wreath making classes, 8 English classes and a sit down Thanksgiving meal for 50 people.

A new ad was finally made for the chapel and it was delivered to the 200 homes in the village where the chruch is located.

Upcoming special plans are for a cooking class on the 11th and a Christmas meeting on the 20th.
The open house/barbeque on Nov 1st had a number of people from parenting classes and special meetings. We pray they will connect.
The Thanksgiving Party had turkey and pie- and the rest of course. 50 people sat down to eat and then there were games after. The gymn has been well used. It was an apple and box storage area but its nice to have a place where people can run at will.


So where is the chapel at with regards to finances- little by litle renovation costs are being paid for. The big challenge is the land purchase- the final payment needs to be made March 1st and we have none of the required funds. But as God has led, so He will provide.

Garden Test Passed

The field next to Harvest Chapel needed a crop grown before the church could buy it for parking and a kids play area. Squash, corn, beans and tomatos were grown. An application was submited to the Farm Review Board and it passed. So we have the green light to submit the papers requesting rezoning of the land- the church can't buy farmland so it has to be zoned multipurpose.

So we now have a pile of squash, a freezer full of corn and beans. Thank you Jesus.


And the renovation continues. A 70 some year old man who is thrilled at the new church start vision comes every day Martin is onsite to help with whatever needs done.
Building is definitely different without teenage boys helping!! 2 days a week instead of an allout effort makes progress slow- however, English calsses were help on Oct 2.
Hopefully I remember the camera this week.